CHAPTER THREE.
SHOWS HOW CHIEF FRIENDS MAY BECOME FOES, AND CROSS-PURPOSES MAY PRODUCECROSS CONSEQUENCES, INVOLVING WORRY AND CONFUSION.
When Christian had been properly cared for, Hilda sent Ada to thehayfield, saying that she would follow her in a short time. Now it sohappened, by one of those curious coincidences which are generallyconsidered unaccountable, that as Ada ascended the track which led tothe high field above the foss, Glumm the Gruff descended towards thesame point from an opposite direction, so that a meeting between thetwo, in the secluded dell, where the tracks joined, became inevitable.
Whether or not this meeting was anticipated we cannot tell. If it was,the young man and maiden were inimitable actors by nature, for theyappeared to be wholly unconscious of aught save the peculiar formationof the respective footpaths along which they slowly moved. There was,indeed, a twinkle in Ada's eyes; but then Ada's eyes were notedtwinklers; besides, a refractory eyelash might account for such anexpression.
As for Glumm, he frowned on the path most unamiably while he saunteredalong with both hands thrust into the breast of his tunic, and the pointof his sword rasping harshly against rocks and bushes. Glumm waspeculiar in his weapons. He wore a double-handed and double-edgedsword, which was so long that he was obliged to sling it across his backin order to keep it off the ground. The handle projected above his leftshoulder, and the blade, lying diagonally across his person, extendedbeyond his right calf. The young man was remarkably expert in the useof this immense weapon, and was not only a terror to his foes, but,owing to the enormous sweep of its long blade, an object of some anxietyto his friends when they chanced to be fighting alongside of him. Hewore a knife or dagger at his girdle on the right side, which was alsoof unusual size; in all probability it would have been deemed a prettygood sword by the Romans. There were only two men in the dale who couldwield Glumm's weapons. These were Erling and his father, Haldor. Thelatter was as strong a man as Glumm, Erling was even stronger; though,being an amiable man he could not be easily persuaded to prove hisstrength upon his friends. Glumm wore his hair very short. It wascurly, and lay close to his head.
As he sauntered along he kicked the stones out of his way savagely, andappeared to find relief to his feelings in so doing, as well as byallowing his sword to rasp across the rocks and shrubs at his side. Itmight have been observed, however, that Glumm only kicked the littlestones out of his way; he never kicked the big ones. It is interestingto observe how trifling a matter will bring out a trait of human nature!Men will sometimes relieve their angry feelings by storming violentlyat those of their fellows who cannot hurt them, but, strangely enough,they manage to obtain relief to these same feelings without storming,when they chance to be in the company of stronger men than themselves,thereby proving that they have powers of self-restraint which prudence--not to say fear--can call into exercise! commend this moral reflectionparticularly to the study of boys.
After Glumm had kicked all the _little_ stones out of his way, carefullyletting the big ones alone, he came suddenly face to face with Ada, whosaluted him with a look of startled surprise, a slight blush, and aburst of hearty laughter.
"Why, Glumm," exclaimed the maiden, with an arch smile, "thou must haverisen off thy wrong side this morning. Methinks, now, were I a man, Ishould have to look to my weapons, for that long blade of thine seemsinclined to fight with the rocks and shrubs of its own accord."
Poor Glumm blushed as red as if he had been a young girl, at being thusunexpectedly caught giving vent to his ill-humour; he stammeredsomething about bad dreams and evil spirits, and then, breaking into agood-humoured smile, said:
"Well, Ada, I know not what it is that ails me, but I do feel somewhatcross-grained. Perchance a walk with thee may cure me, I see thou artbound for the hayfield. But hast thou not heard the news? The Danishvikings are off the coast, burning and murdering wherever they go. Itis rumoured, too, that their fleet is under that king of scoundrels,Skarpedin the Red. Surely there is reason for my being angry."
"Nay, then, if thou wert a bold man thou wouldst find reason in this forbeing glad," replied Ada. "Is not the chance of a fight the joy of atrue Norseman's heart? Surely a spell must have been laid on thee, ifthy brow darkens and thy heart grows heavy on hearing of a stout enemy.It is not thus with Erling the Bold. His brow clears and his eyesparkles when a foe worthy of--But what seest thou, Glumm? Has the Daneappeared in the forest that thy brow becomes so suddenly clouded? Ipray thee do not run away and leave me unprotected."
"Doubtless if I did, Erling the Bold would come to thine aid," repliedthe young man with some asperity.
"Nay, do not be angry with me, Glumm," said the girl, laughing, as theyreached the field where Haldor and his stout son were busily at workassisting Ulf, who, with all his thralls and freemen, was engaged incutting and gathering in his hay.
"Hey! here come cloud and sunshine hand in hand," cried Erling, pausingin his work, as Glumm and his pretty companion approached the scene oflabour.
"Get on with thy work, then, and make the hay while I am shining,"retorted Ada, bestowing on the youth a bright smile, which he returnedcheerfully and with interest.
This was the wicked Ada's finishing touch. Glumm saw the exchange ofsmiles, and a pang of fierce jealousy shot through his breast.
"The cloud sometimes darts out lightning," he muttered angrily, and,turning on his heel, began to toss the hay with all his might in orderto relieve his feelings.
Just then Hilda entered the field, and Glumm, putting strong constrainton himself, accosted her with extreme cheerfulness and respect--resolvedin his heart to show Ada that there were other girls in Horlingdal worthcourting besides herself. In this game he was by no means successful asregarded Ada, who at once discerned his intention, but the shaft whichflew harmlessly past her fixed itself deep in the breast of anothervictim. Glumm's unusual urbanity took the kind-hearted Hilda so much bysurprise, that she was interested, and encouraged him, in what sheconceived to be a tendency towards improvement of disposition, bybestowing on him her sweetest smiles during the course of the day,insomuch that Erling the Bold became much surprised, and at lastunaccountably cross.
Thus did these two men, who had for many years been fast and lovingfriends, become desperately jealous, though each sought to conceal thefact from the other. But the green-eyed monster having obtained alodgment in their bosoms, could not be easily cast out. Yet the goodsense of each enabled him to struggle with some success against thepassion, for Glumm, although gruff, was by no means a bad man.
The presence of those conflicting feelings did not, however, interruptor retard the work of the field. It was a truly busy scene. Masters,unfreemen, and thralls, mistresses and maidens, were there, cutting andturning and piling up the precious crop with might and main; for theyknew that the weather could not be trusted to, and the very lives oftheir cattle depended on the successful ingathering of the hay.
As we have here mentioned the three different classes that existed inNorway, it may be well to explain that the masters were peasants or"bonders", but not by any means similar to peasants in other lands; onthe contrary, they were the udal-born proprietors of the soil--thepeasant-nobility, so to speak, the Udallers, or freeholders, without anysuperior lord, and were entitled to attend and have a voice in the"Things" or assemblies where the laws were enacted and public affairsregulated. The next class was that of the "unfreemen". These werefreed slaves who had wrought out or purchased their freedom, but who,although personally free, and at liberty to go where and serve whom theypleased, were not free to attend the legislative assemblies. They wereunfree of the Things, and hence their apparently contradictorydesignation. They, however, enjoyed the protection and civil rightsimparted by the laws, and to their class belonged all the cottars on theland paying a rent in work on the farm of the bonder or udaller, alsothe house-carles or freeborn indoormen, and the tradesmen, labourers,fishermen, etcetera, about villages and farms. Thralls were slavestaken
in war, over whom the owners had absolute control. They mightsell them, kill them, or do with them as they pleased. Thralls werepermitted to purchase their freedom--and all the descendants of thosefreed thralls, or unfreemen, were free.
The clothing of the unfreemen was finer than that of the thralls. Thelegs and arms of nearly all were bare from the knees and elbowsdownward, though a few had swathed their limbs in bands of rough woollencloth, while others used straw for this purpose. Nearly all the menwore shoes of untanned leather, and caps of the same material, or ofrough homespun cloth, resembling in form the cap of modern fishermen.The udallers, such as Haldor, Ulf, and their children, were clad infiner garments, which were looped and buttoned with brooches andpendants of gold and silver, the booty gathered on those viking cruises,against which Hilda inveighed so earnestly.
The work went on vigorously until the sun began to sink behind themountain range that lay to the north-westward of the dale. By this timethe hay was all cut, and that portion which was sufficiently dry piledup, so Ulf and Haldor left the work to be finished by the younger hands,and stood together in the centre of the field chatting and looking on.
Little change had taken place in the personal appearance of Ulf ofRomsdal since the occasion of that memorable duel related in the firstchapter of our story. Some of his elasticity, but none of his strength,was gone. There was perhaps a little more thought in his face, and afew more wrinkles on his swarthy brow, but his hair was still black andhis figure straight as the blade of his good sword. His old enemy butnow fast friend, Haldor the Fierce, had changed still less. True, hisformerly smooth chin and cheeks were now thickly covered with luxuriantfair hair, but his broad forehead was still unwrinkled, and his clearblue eye was as bright as when, twenty years before, it gleamed inyouthful fire at Ulf. Many a battle had Haldor fought since then, athome and abroad, and several scars on his countenance and shoulders gaveevidence that he had not come out of these altogether scathless; but warhad not soured him. His smile was as free, open, and honest, and hislaugh as loud and hearty, as in days of yore. Erling was thecounterpart of his father, only a trifle taller and stouter. At a shortdistance they might have been taken for twin brothers, and those who didnot know them could scarcely have believed that they were father andson.
Close to the spot where the two friends stood, a sturdy thrall wasengaged in piling up hay with an uncommon degree of energy. This manhad been taken prisoner on the coast of Ireland by Ulf, during one ofhis sea-roving expeditions. He had a huge massive frame, with aprofusion of red hair on his head and face, and a peculiarly humoroustwinkle in his eye. His name was Kettle Flatnose. We have reason tobelieve that the first part of this name had no connection with thatdomestic utensil which is intimately associated with tea! It was a mereaccidental resemblance of sound no doubt. As to the latter part, thatis easily explained. In those days there were no surnames. In order todistinguish men of the same name from each other, it was usual todesignate them by their complexions, or by some peculiarity of person ortrait of character. A blow from a club in early life had destroyed theshape of Kettle's nose, and had disfigured an otherwise handsome andmanly countenance. Hence his name. He was about thirty-five years ofage, large-boned, broad-shouldered, and tall, but lean in flesh, andrather ungainly in his motions. Few men cared to grapple with the hugeIrish slave, for he possessed a superabundant share of that fire andlove of fight which are said to characterise his countrymen even at thepresent time. He was also gifted with a large share of theircharacteristic good humour and joviality; which qualities endeared himto many of his companions, especially to the boys of the neighbourhood.In short, there was not a better fellow in the dale than KettleFlatnose.
"Thy labour is not light, Kettle," observed Ulf to the thrall as hepaused for a few moments in the midst of his work to wipe his heatedbrow.
"Ill would it become me, master," replied the man, "to take my work easywhen my freedom is so nearly gained."
"Right, quite right," replied Ulf with an approving nod, as the thrallset to work again with redoubled energy.
"That man," he added, turning to Haldor, "will work himself free in afew weeks hence. He is one of my best thralls. I give my slaves, asthou knowest, leave to work after hours to purchase their freedom, andKettle labours so hard that he is almost a free man already, though hehas been with me little more than two years and a half. I fear thefellow will not remain with me after he is free, for he is an unsettledspirit. He was a chief in his own land, it seems, and left a bridebehind him, I am told. If he goes, I lose a man equal to two, he is sostrong and willing.--Ho! Kettle," continued Ulf, turning to the man,who had just finished the job on which he had been engaged, "toss meyonder stone and let my friend Haldor see what thou art made of."
Kettle obeyed with alacrity. He seized a round stone as large as hisown head, and, with an unwieldy action of his great frame, cast itviolently through the air about a dozen yards in advance of him.
"Well cast, well cast!" cried Haldor, while a murmur of applause rosefrom the throng of labourers who had been instantly attracted to thespot. "Come, I will try my own hand against thee."
Haldor advanced, and, lifting the stone, balanced it for a few momentsin his right hand, then, with a graceful motion and an apparently slighteffort, hurled it forward. It fell a foot beyond Kettle's mark.
Seeing this the thrall leaped forward, seized the stone, ran back to theline, bent his body almost to the ground, and, exerting himself to theutmost, threw it into the same hollow from which he had lifted it.
"Equal!" cried Ulf. "Come, Haldor, try again."
"Nay, I will not try until he beats me," replied Haldor with agood-natured laugh. "But do thou take a cast, Ulf. Thine arm ispowerful, as I can tell from experience."
"Not so," replied Ulf. "It becomes men who are past their prime toreserve their strength for the sword and battle-axe. Try it once more,Kettle. Mayhap thou wilt pass the mark next time."
Kettle tried again and again, but without gaining a hair's-breadth onHaldor's throw. The stalwart thrall had indeed put forth greater forcein his efforts than Haldor, but he did not possess his skill.
"Will no young man make trial of his strength and skill?" said Haldor,looking round upon the eager faces of the crowd.
"Glumm is no doubt anxious to try his hand," said Erling, who stoodclose to the line, with his arms resting on the head of his long-haftedbattle-axe. "The shining of the Sunbeam will doubtless warm thy heartand nerve thine arm."
Erling muttered the latter part of his speech in a somewhat bitter tone,alluding to Hilda's smiles; but the jealous and sulky Glumm couldappreciate no sunbeams save those that flashed from Ada's dark eyes. Heunderstood the remark as a triumphant and ironical taunt, and, leapingfiercely into the ring formed by the spectators, exclaimed:
"I will cast the stone, but I must have a better man than thou, Kettle,to strive with. If Erling the Bold will throw--"
"I will not balk thee," interrupted the other quickly, as he laid downhis axe and stepped up to the line.
Glumm now made a cast. Everyone knew well enough that he was one of thebest throwers of the stone in all the dale, and confidently anticipatedan easy victory over the thrall. But the unusual tumult of conflictingfeelings in the young man's breast rendered him at the time incapable ofexerting his powers to the utmost in a feat, to excel in which requiresthe union of skill with strength. At his first throw the stone fellshort about an inch!
At this Ada's face became grave, and her heart began to flutter withanxiety; for although willing enough to torment her lover a littleherself, she could not brook the idea of his failing in a feat ofstrength before his comrades.
Furious with disappointment and jealousy, and attributing Ada'sexpression to anxiety lest he should succeed, Glumm cast again withpassionate energy, and sent the stone just an inch beyond the thrall'smark. There was a dispute on the point, however, which did not tend tosoothe the youth's feelings, but it was ultimately decided in
hisfavour.
Erling now stood forth; and as he raised his tall form to its fullheight, and elevated the stone above his head, he seemed (especially toHilda) the _beau-ideal_ of manly strength and beauty.
He was grieved, however, at Glumm's failure, for he knew him to becapable of doing better than he had done. He remembered their oldfriendship too, and pity for his friend's loss of credit caused therecently implanted jealousy for a moment to abate. He resolved,therefore, to exert himself just sufficiently to maintain his credit.
But, unhappily for the successful issue of this effort of self-denial,Erling happened to cast his eye towards the spot where Hilda stood. Thetender-hearted maiden chanced at that moment to be regarding Glumm witha look of genuine pity. Of course Erling misconstrued the look! Nextmoment the huge stone went singing through the air, and fell with acrash full two yards beyond Glumm's mark. Happening to alight on apiece of rock, it sprang onward, passed over the edge of the hill orbrae on the summit of which the field lay, and gathering additionalimpetus in its descent, went bounding down the slope, tearing througheverything in its way, until it found rest at last on the sea beachbelow.
A perfect storm of laughter and applause greeted this unexpected feat,but high above the din rose the voice of Glumm, who, now in a toweringpassion, seized his double-handed sword, and shouting--
"Guard thee, Erling!" made a furious blow at his conqueror's head.
Erling had fortunately picked up his axe after throwing the stone. Heimmediately whirled the heavy head so violently against the descendingsword that the blade broke off close to the hilt, and Glumm stood beforehim, disarmed and helpless, gazing in speechless astonishment at thehilt which remained in his hands.
"My good sword!" he exclaimed, in a tone of deep despondency.
At this Erling burst into a hearty fit of laughter. "My bad sword, thoumust mean," said he. "How often have I told thee, Glumm, that there wasa flaw in the metal! I have advised thee more than once to prove theblade, and now that thou hast consented to do so, behold the result!But be not so cast down, man; I have forged another blade specially forthyself, friend Glumm, but did not think to give it thee so soon."
Glumm stood abashed, and had not a word to reply. Fortunately hisfeelings were relieved by the attention of the whole party beingattracted at that moment to the figure of a man on the opposite side ofthe valley, who ran towards them at full speed, leaping over almostevery obstacle that presented itself in his course. In a few minutes herushed, panting, into the midst of the throng, and presented a baton orshort piece of wood to Ulf, at the same time exclaiming: "Haste! KingHarald holds a Thing at the Springs. Speed on the token."
The import of this message and signal were well understood by the men ofHorlingdal. When an assembly or Thing was to be convened for discussingcivil matters a wooden truncheon was sent round from place to place byfleet messengers, each of whom ran a certain distance, and thendelivered over his "message-token" to another runner, who carried itforward to a third, and so on. In this manner the whole country couldbe roused and its chief men assembled in a comparatively short time.When, however, the Thing was to be assembled for the discussion ofaffairs pertaining to war, an arrow split in four parts was themessage-token. When the split arrow passed through the land men wereexpected to assemble armed to the teeth, but when the baton went roundit was intended that they should meet without the full panoply of war.
As soon as the token was presented, Ulf looked about for a fleet man tocarry forward the message. Several of the youths at once steppedforward offering their services. Foremost among them was a stout,deep-chested active boy of about twelve years of age, with long flaxencurls, a round sunburnt face, a bold yet not forward look, a merrysmile, and a pair of laughing blue eyes. This was Erling's littlebrother Alric--a lad whose bosom was kept in a perpetual state of stormyagitation by the conflict carried on therein between a powerful tendencyto fun and mischief, and a strong sense of the obedience due to parents.
"I will go," said the boy eagerly, holding out his hand for the token.
"Thou, my son?" said Haldor, regarding him with a look of ill-suppressedpride. "Go to thy mother's bower, boy. What if a fox, or mayhap even awolf, met thee on the fell?"
"Have I not my good bow of elm?" replied Alric, touching the weapon,which, with a quiver full of arrows, was slung across his back.
"Tush! boy; go pop at the squirrels till thou be grown big enough towarrant thy boasting."
"Father," said Alric with a look of glee, "I'm sure I did not boast. Idid but point to my poor weapons. Besides, I have good legs. If Icannot fight, methinks I can run."
"Out upon thee--"
"Nay, Haldor," said Ulf, interrupting the discussion, "thou art too hardon the lad. Can he run well?"
"I'll answer for that," said Erling, laying his large hand on hisbrother's flaxen head. "I doubt if there is a fleeter foot in all thedale."
"Away then," cried Ulf, handing the token to Alric, "and see that yedeserve all this praise. And now, sirs, let us fare to the hall to supand prepare for our journey to the Springs."
The crowd at once broke up and hurried away to Ulfstede in separategroups, discussing eagerly as they went, and stepping out like men whohad some pressing business on hand. Alric had already darted away likea hunted deer.
Erling turned hastily aside and went away alone. As soon as he reacheda spot where the rugged nature of the ground concealed him from his latecompanions, he started up the valley at his utmost speed, directing hiscourse so as to enable him to overshoot and intercept his brother. Hepassed a gorge ahead of the boy; and then, turning suddenly to the left,bore down upon him. So well did he calculate the distance, that onturning round the edge of a jutting cliff he met him face to face, andthe two ran somewhat violently into each other's arms.
On being relieved from this involuntary embrace, Alric stepped back andopened his eyes wide with surprise, while Erling roared with laughter.
"Ye are merry, my brother," said Alric, relaxing into a grin, "but Ihave seen thee often thus, and may not stop to observe thee now, seeingthat it is nothing new."
"Give me an arrow, thou rogue! There," said Erling, splitting the shaftinto four parts, handing it back to the boy, and taking the baton fromhim. "Get thee gone, and use thy legs well. We must not do the Kingthe dishonour to appear before him without our weapons in theseunsettled times. Let the token be sent out north, south, east, andwest; and, harkee, lad, say nothing to anyone about the object of theassembly."
Alric's countenance became grave, then it again relaxed into a broadgrin. Giving his brother an emphatic wink with one of his large blueeyes, he darted past him, and was soon far up the glen, running with thespeed of a deer and waving the war-token over his head.